Foat-operated valve.



e. E. PUTNAM. FLOAT OPERATED VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 21, 1914.

Patented June 15, 1915.

GEORGE E. PUTNAM, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FLOAT-OPERATED VALVE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented June 15, 1915.

Application filed December 21, 1914. Serial No. 878,375.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. PUTNAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Float- Operated Valves, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The broad object of this invention is to provide a supply valve which is automatically operated to replenish the supply of fluid to a receptacle which has a discharge device that is independent in structure of the supply valve; and the specific object of the invention is to provide a float-operated valve for replenishing the supply of water to a flush-tank for water-closets, and of such simple construction and so few parts as to be capable of economical manufacture, of great durability, and free from chattering or hammeringunder hard usage and high pressure.

The invention consists of a supply valve, having a discharge chamber into which the fluid enters directly from the supply pipe, through an interposed rotary or oscillating disk valve, which is automatically operated, as by a float acted upon by changes of level of the fluid in a receptacle into which the fluid is discharged through the valve, as I will proceed now to explain and finally claim.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, in the several figures of which like parts are, similarly designated,

Figure 1 is a top plan view illustrating the valve supplied with a float operating device, the float arm and the float being broken away. Fig. 2 is a front elevation, and Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the valve and part of the float arm. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the dotted line of Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is'a front elevation, and Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the valve casing. Fig. 7 is a front elevation, and Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the collar. Fig. 9 is an end elevatiomand Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the disk valve and its stem. Fig. llis a perspective view of the float arm head. Fig. 12 is a vertical section and partial elevation illustrating one form of installation of the valve.

The valve casing or body 1 has one end provided with a screwthread 2, orv other means for connecting the valve with a source of supply; and this end of the casing is provided with a valve seat 3 supplied with any number of ports 4, and also provided with a central bore 5. The other end of the casing is left open, and is provided with a projection or lug 6. The valve is a disk 7 provided with ports 8 to match or register with the ports 4 in the valve casing, and it also has a stem 9 provided with one or more transverse holes 10 at its end farthest from the valve disk 7 The valve disk 7 is fitted to turn against the valve seat 3 on the outside of the valve casing, so as always to be exposed to the pressure in the supply means, such pressure serving to seat the valve without the aid of springs or other extraneous valve seating means and without recourse to packing. The end of the stem containing the hole or holes 10 is socketed in a collar 11 which is fitted in the open end of the casing in any suitable way, as by means of a hub 12 having any number of shoulders to increase the fluid tightness of the fit of the collar within the casing; and the collar and stem' are connected to turn with one another by means of a transversely arranged pin 13 extending through the collar and the stem. This collar has a limited movement by reason of the engagement of the projection or lug 6 in the socket 1 1 in the collar, and the range of movement is sufficient to permit the movement of the valve so as to cause its ports to register and pass out of register with the ports 4 in the valve casing. The collar 11 has an external hub 15 upon which is fitted the head 16 of the float arm 17, and said head has one or more arcuate slots 18 through which screws 19 are passed into engagement with the collar 11 so as to permit of the adjustment of the float arm to open and close the valve at any desired level of fluid.

20 is a float of suitable sort, applied to the end of the float arm.

The float connection may be such that the .Valve may be set for right-hand or left-hand operation, and for this purpose the Valve stem may have two holes 10, as shown in Figs. 4: and 9, and the float arm may be reversed upon the collar by means of the screw connection of its head therewith.

The valve casing has a bottom opening 21 to which the discharge pipe 22 is applied.

As already stated, the valve has no specific supply chamber, but the supply pipe itself is utilized as such chamber. The valve may be connected with the supply pipe by any usual or approved couplings, unions, Ts or elbows. As shown in Fig. 12, the valve is arranged to receive its supply of fluid from above, and the supply pipe 23 and the valve casing 1 are connected by an elbow 2a of any usual or approved construction. As shown, the valve disk 7 is exposed in the elbow 24- to the fluid pressure in the elbow and the pipe 23 at all times, and opens and closes against such pressure by a rotary or oscillating movement imparted by the rising 1ind falling of the float arm and its attached oat.

As shown, the invention is designed for use in a flush tank for water-closets, although as previously stated, the invention is applicable for supplying any tank or receptacle with fluid and from which the fluid is intermittently withdrawn and its supply replenished successively. As already stated, the construction is such that the valve may be used either for a right-hand or a lefthand installation, it being necessary only to detach the float arm by removing the screws 19 and shifting the float arm and its float from one side to the other, and shifting the valve disk by shifting the pin 13 from one of the holes 10 to the other, so that the valve will open and close by the same relative movements of the float and float arm, and then replacing the screws 19 in the same slots in the head and the same screw-holes in the collar.

It will be understood, of course, that when the fluid in the tank or other receptacle in which the valve is arranged is discharged therefrom and its level falls below a predetermined point, the float will follow and through its arm will turn the collar and through it the valve, and open the valve and keep it open until such time as the fluid coming from the supply pipe passes through the valve into the tank or receptacle and rises to the desired level and then the float will operate to reverse the movement of the valve disk and close the valve against the further admission of fluid into the tank or receptacle.

The arcuate slots in the float arm head provide for variation in the adjustment of the float so as to operate on different levels.

It will be understood that variations in construction are permissible within the principle of the invention; and it will also be understood that the invention is not limited to any specific application thereof, and the claims hereinafter made are to be under-- stood accordingly.

By the construction described I produce a quick-opening and closing valve having a positive but limited movement while in op eration, and this movement is not obnoxiously affected by variation of pressure, change of temperature, or air mixed with the fluid supply; moreover, the valve requires no packing material such as washers, balls, or flexible seats in its construction, and its va ve disk is exposed to positive pressure, which forces it against the seat with greatest force at the time when most needed, namely, when the valve is closed. The valve works equally well under any pressure without adjustment. Should air get into the supply line, it will have no harmful of feet on the working of the valve, and tests show that there is no chatter in the valve or water-hammer in the line under any conditions.

The parts constituting the valve proper are few in number and of simple and economical construction, and there is nothing in the valve to get out of order under ordinary or even hard conditions of use. The float has a short travel and permits the valve to remain wide open until the tank or receptacle is nearly full before starting to close.

The valve is especially useful in successfully meeting the difficult conditions imposed by the high pressure common to all high buildings. It effectually overcomes the chatter and hammering noises in hot and cold water pipes due to a variety of fittings and especially ball cocks which close either with or against the pressure, oftentimes pro ducing breaks in the fittings or pipes, and causing discoloration of the water by the loosening of corrosion. Another advantage of the invention is that it dispenses with packing, soft seats and the like which wear out quickly, are affected by changes of temperature, cause leakage, stiffness of opera tion and noise, and must necessarily be replaced with new material at frequent intervals.

The invention especially avoids the necessity of the use of springs. In some valves successful operation depends entirely upon the sustained tension of the spring, and if such spring is made of a non-corrosive metal it is apt to lose its elasticity; and if it is made of steel coated with a non-corrosive metal, like copper, it eventually becomes objectionable in that the protective coating cracks or peels off and corrosion in spots occurs, resulting in the ultimate destruction of the spring and consequently throwing off the corroded metal which discolors the fluid.

What I claim is 1. A rotary or oscillating disk valve, comprising a casing having an exterior ported valve seat, a complementally ported valve disk applied to said seat on the outside and normally seated by fluid pressure and having a stem extending inwardly through the casing, a collar fitted to turn in the opposite end of the casing, means to connect the collar and said stem so that they will turn together, said collar serving to close that end of the casing in which it is applied, and

applied to the valve seat externally thereof and seated thereon by fluid pressure and complementally ported and having a valve stem extending into the collar at the other end of the casing, means to connect the collar and stem so as to cause them to turn together, a float arm having a head adjustably applied to said collar, and means partly on the casing and partly on the collar for limiting the movement of the collar.

3. A rotary or oscillating disk valve, comprising a casing having one end provided with a ported valve seat, a rotary or oscillating collar fitted in the opposite end of the casing and serving to close it, a valve disk applied to the valve seat externally thereof and complementally ported and normally'held to said seat by fluid pressure and having a valve stem extending into the collar at the other end of the casing, means to connect the collar and stem so as to cause them to turn together, a float arm having a head reversibly applied to said collar so as to permit the valve to be used in either a right-hand or a left-hand installation, and means partly on the casing and partly on the collar for limiting the movement of the collar.,

4. A rotary or oscillating disk valve, comprising a casing having one end provided with a ported valve seat, a rotary or oscillating collar fitted in the opposite end of the casing and serving to close it, a valve disk applied to the valve seat externally thereof and complementally ported and having a valve stem extending into the collar at the other end of the casing, means to connect the collar and stem so as to cause them to turn together, a float arm having a head adjustably and reversibly applied to said collar,

and means partly on the casing and partly on the collar for limiting the movement of the collar, the reversibility of the float arm head admitting of the use of the valve in either a right-hand or a left-hand installation.

5. A float-operated valve, having a casing provided with a discharge opening and having one end provided with a ported valve seat, and means for connecting the casing with a source of fluid supply, a hubbed collar fitted in the opposite end of the casing and adapted to turn therein, a lug on the casing and a socket in the collar to receive said lug whereby the turning movement of the collar with relation to the casing is limited, a ported valve disk'applied to the valve seat and having a stem extending through the casing and entering the collar, means to connect the collar and stem to cause them to turn together, and a float arm applied to the collar.

6. A float-operated valve, comprising a casing having its inlet end provided with a ported valve seat and means to connect the valve with a source of supply, a disk valve complementally ported and applied externally to the valve seat and having a stem extending longitudinally through the casing, a collar provided with a hub entering the bore of the casing at the opposite end of said casing and having a socket in which the end of the valve stem is received, said collar and said valve stem having transverse openings, a pin arranged in said transverse openings and connecting the collar and stem so as to cause them to turn together, a float, a float arm and a head on said arm provided with arcuate slots, means cooperating with said arcuate' slots to adjustably fix the head on the collar, and means partly on the casing and partly on the collar cooperating to limit the movement of the collar.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 18th day of December A. D. 1914.

GEORGE E. PUTNAM. Witnesses:

G. W. M. RHODES, J. H. GREGORY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

